29 Feb 2008 10:00
PIK Group29 February 2008 PIK GROUP ("The Group" or "PIK") 2007 YEAR END UPDATE (LONDON, 29 February 2008) - PIK (LSE: PIK), a leading Russian nationwideresidential property developer, today publishes an update to the marketregarding housing completions for the year ended 31 December 2007. Headline numbers are provided in the table below: (thousands of sq meters, rounded) 2006 2007 Change (unaudited) (unaudited)Total housing completions 1 244 1 542 +23.9%Including:Construction services provided to Moscow city 376 196 -47.8% Total housing completions by geography 1 244 1 542 +23.9%Including:Moscow 744 528 -29.0%Moscow region 340 643 +89.1%Russia's regions 160 371 +131.8% Summary: • Strong growth in housing completions for 2007, demonstrating PIK's ability to render large scale housing volumes throughout Russia • Continued diversification into Russia's regions, in line with our strategy • Regional completions increased by 131.8% and now accounting for 24.0% share of total (2006: 12.8%) • Fall in volume, as anticipated, of Moscow completions and lower margin construction services rendered to Moscow city government • Rapid expansion of the Group's land bank in 2007 and early 2008, with over 7.8m square meters of estimated net saleable space added; 94% of the new land is situated outside Moscow city with 80% located in Russia's regions • Cash and equivalents as of December 31 2007 as per management accounts amounted to USD687m (FY06: USD43m), while corresponding net debt totaled USD659m (FY06: USD869m) The latest available independent appraisal report by CB Richard Ellis is datedJanuary 1 2007, and values our land bank at $8.8 billion for 8.8m square metresof unsold net saleable space. CBRE will be providing a revised independentappraisal of the total portfolio as of 1 January 2008 in May this year, TheGroup will also publish its full audited results for the year to 31 December2007 in May. It should be noted that discussions are ongoing with CBRE regardingthe inclusion or otherwise of some land plots acquired in 2008 and certainothers where plot acquisitions were phased over 2007 and 2008. Looking ahead, we believe that the fundamentals of the Russian residential realestate market remain sound and we expect good growth over the coming year. Thestrength of our national geographic spread, mass market focus combined with ourentire neighborhood development approach leave us well placed to delivercontinued growth. Enquiries: PIK Group Tel: +7 495 505 97 33 ext. 1358Viktor SzalkayInvestor Relations Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: +44 20 7638 9571Tom BaldockScott Fulton Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or otherforward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financialperformance of PIK. You can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as"expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "will," "could," "may"or "might" the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Thesestatements are only predictions and actual events or results may differmaterially. PIK does not intend to or undertake any obligation to update thesestatements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereofor to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could causethe actual results to differ materially from those contained in PIK'sprojections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, generaleconomic conditions, PIK's competitive environment, risks associated withoperating in Russia, rapid technological and market change, and other factorsspecifically related to PIK and its operations. The Group's reporting currency is Russian roubles. However, for presentationpurposes, these amounts were converted into US$ using applicable exchange rates(31 December 2006: 26.33; 31 December 2007: 24.54) for the balance sheet as ofthe date of reporting. -END- NOTES TO EDITORS PIK Group Overview Founded in 1994, PIK is one of the leading vertically integrated residentialdevelopers in Russia with over 14,000 employees across the country. Its businessactivities are concentrated in Moscow and the Moscow region with an increasingfootprint in many of Russia's other regions. Its principal activity is thedevelopment, construction and sale of residential properties in large scaledevelopments targeted primarily at the middle income housing market in Russia. PIK's core activities include: • development of residential real estate projects and sales of completed units, including servicing and maintenance of residential real estate developed by PIK and other developers; • production and assembly of concrete panel housing in Moscow as a subcontractor for the Moscow city government; and • production and sale of raw materials and construction materials. The last three years between 2004 and 2006, PIK has completed over 2.5 millionsquare meters of residential housing and over 36,000 residential units inRussia. June 1, 2007, the Group completed successful listings on the London StockExchange, the RTS and MICEX exchanges in Russia. PIK Group's website address is: www.pik.ru This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange